Kings of Piolsa
The Kings of Piolsa are the ceremonial monarchs of Piolsa, currently a member of the Lendosan Confederation. The Piolsan royal family is known as the House of Mendurosa. Kings of Piolsa Note: the House of Mendurosa numbers its monarchs from the beginning of the House's history, not from the beginning of its reign as kings of Piolsa. Hence, the first King of Piolsa is Decimo II, even though Piolsa has never had a Decimo I. *King Decimo II (reigned 122 AP - 140 AP) *King Nuvaro II (reigned 140 AP - 216 AP) *King Steniro V (reigned 216 AP - 247 AP) *Queen Meria (reigned 247 AP - 274 AP) *King Dazelio III (reigned 274 - present) The Piolsan monarchy is hereditary, by rules of cognatic primogeniture (that is, the eldest child of the monarch will inherit the throne). The current heir apparent is Princess Anna, eldest daughter of King Dazelio and his wife Queen Simona. Next in line is Princess Larisa, the King's third child. (Princess Amanda, the King's second child, has opted to renounce any claim to the throne). History The Piolsan royal line has traditionally traced its origins to the royal family of the High Kingdom of Piolsa, a state which existed before the Great Plague. There are long-running disputes over the accuracy of this claim, but most historians consider it to be relatively likely. After the Plague, the family (which referred to itself as the House of Mendurosa) established itself as the rulers of Rezimano, which had previously been the capital of the High King. Although initially promoting themselves as the rightful High Kings of Piolsa, the family eventually settled for merely being Kings of Rezimano. Eventually, Piolsa stabilized under the rule of three seperate kingdoms — Rezimano, Alvaronia, and Valcaera. In all three, the powers of the monarchs gradually diminished, with assemblies of nobles becoming the true holders of authority — these nobles were frequently accused of using their power to advance their interests at the expense of the country. In around 90 AP, tension broke out between the King of Rezimano and the nobles — the fourth Mendurosa king, Decimo II, was strongly reformist in his beliefs, and harshly criticised the nobles' actions. King Decimo was not able to effect any great changes, but his stand won him considerably popularity with the country, particularly among reformists. When the Lendian Revolution broke out on the other side of the Piolsan Strait, the elite of the three Piolsan kingdoms were worried, but King Decimo was supportive of the Revolution's aims. The nobles responded by removing many of his powers and banishing him to a castle in the countryside, but he continued to speak out in favour of change — he was widely nicknamed "lo Reio Dissidento", or "the Dissident King", a name which is still used today. In 113 AP, he was forced to abdicate the throne in favour of his reactionary son, Larenzo IV. The three Piolsan kingdoms refused to acknowledge the Lendian Revolution, considering the overthrow of the old order to be illegitimate. In 108 AP, they declared war on the revolutionaries, hoping to restore the old kingdoms and halt the spread of revolutionary ideas. The newly-risen Emperor of Lendia, Ravamiro Talriez, did not take long to defeat the Piolsan kingdoms, however — Valcaera left the war in 118 AP, the Alvaronian capital was captured in 120 AP, and the city of Rezimano was captured in 123 AP. Both countries were integrated into the Lendian Empire. Decimo's position was an interesting one — despite being the former head of one of the "old order" monarchies, he had supported the revolution, only the most ardent of revolutionaries wished to see him be cast down. Therefore, a compromise was reached — the monarchy would be abolished, but Decimo would be granted a fresh title under the "new order" of nobility that Emperor Ravamiro was building. The title chosen was King of Piolsa — it carried no powers, but had considerable prestige. This way, the old structures would be swept away, but Decimo would not. (It also had the advantage of reducing Piolsan anger at being annexed to Lendia). Decimo was wary of accepting the offer, because he did not believe that Emperor Ravamiro was truely dedicated to the ideals of the Revolution. Decimo saw Ravamiro's new nobility as a reversal of the Revolution's gains, not (as Ravamiro claimed) a necessary measure to cement them — Decimo, like the Revolution's early leaders, preferred a republic. However, Decimo eventually agreed to become King of Piolsa, if only because it gave him a stronger position to defend the Revolution's principles. For the duration of Imperial rule, the House of Mendurosa retained the title of King of Piolsa, although their actual influence was minimal. When the Empire finally fell, however, the king of the time, Dazelio III played a major role in influencing public opinion. When the Lendosan Confederation was formed, Piolsans were given a choice as to the monarchy's fate — thanks to the popularity of King Dazelio, they voted for their country to be a constitutional monarchy. The Piolsan monarchy remains relatively popular today, although there are still those who wish it abolished. Besides supporters of a republic, there are also a number of hardline monarchists who believe that King Decimo II's cooperation with revolutionaries "disqualifies" the House of Mendurosa from royal legitimacy.